Three off the Bucket List of Riding ! { Part 1 }

 

                                             Bear Tooth Pass Summit June 15th 2015

Returned from an extensive ride covering 3500 kms in 6 days and checking off 3 rides off my "Bucket list of Rides"
Riding the Bear Tooth pass ,Chief Joseph highway  and the "Going to the Sun" highway up the Logan pass were always on my list of rides to accomplish . An undertaking that took some planning and great luck with the weather. Going in June also minimized the holiday traffic that would be in effect during July and August.

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First day of 6 covered Calgary to Great Falls Montana. A easy ride other than the construction south of St Mary's that took a toll on my shock seals. Gravel , mud and roughed asphalt lasted for about 80 kms in total. The only treat was the full sweepers for about 20 kms before the construction.

East Glacier Park

South of Cardson Alberta

Border Crossing at Carway

 

                                                               Gas prices in the US 

We must be in Montana

 

 

 

Second day involved riding from Great Falls to Red Lodge going thru the Lewis and Clark National Forest . Pleasant ride with the skies opening up for an hour or two . An opportunity to check out our rain gear .

 

No traffic on a Sunday drive

Some Hi -Viz gear by Tourmaster

                                                              
                                                               Red Lodge Montana
Great little town with a great assortment of places to gather after a day of riding. Kind of quite on a Sunday night with an overcast gloomy sky. What's in store for us a the next day?

 

 

 

Bear Tooth and Chief Joseph .

Two rides on the bucket list in one day? Technical ride only covering about 250 km. 37 turns on the way up to the Bear Tooth pass. Most are 20 mph with 90 degree turns with a 7% to 12% grade. I must say I had some trepidation in doing this part of the ride . Demanding physically and mentally with no room for error. The weather can change on a dime . The day before we spoke with some that rode the pass on Sunday and saw a large motor vehicle accident with ice crystals most of the day with visibility of 5 to 10 feet. Needless to say a adolescent  Grizzly bear decided to play with some stuff outside my hotel room at 1:30 in the am, there fore limiting my rest for the coming day.

                             Clouds moving off , is it going to be a great day with the weather?

 

 

                                   Awesome weather with no wind and limited cloud cover.

                      Making it up to the summit on the border with Montana and Wyoming.